"Magnum Opus"

"Don't tell me you're trying to take a selfie with a gorgon."

"Magnum Opus" is the tenth episode of Season Two of Fox's Sleepy Hollow. It was written by Donald Todd and directed by Doug Aarniokoski. It is the twenty-third episode of the series overall, and debuted on November 24, 2014.

Synopsis[]

Abbie and Crane are on a quest to find a weapon of ultimate power in order to kill Moloch - the Sword of Methuselah - before the Headless Horseman can stop them.^[1]

Recap[]

In The Archives, Ichabod Crane and Abbie Mills play a guessing game to distract themselves from their research in to Grace Dixon's journal, which contains a clue on a weapon that can kill Moloch.

Katrina Crane uses Henry Parish's mirror to contact her husband, but their conversation is short. Henry later exploits the mirror to spy on the Witnesses instead, and learn of their plans to retrieve Methuselah's Sword. Henry suggests that Abraham Van Brunt use the remaining hours before daylight to try to retrieve the Sword before the Witnesses can. The quest is not without its perils, for the prophecy concerning the sword says: "Know thyself completely or perish when you attempt to see."

As Crane and Abbie reach their destination, Abraham arrives on horseback. They hide from him as he attempts to enter the hidden lair. But he is distracted when Abbie accidentally knocks over a brick. The Horseman closes in on her hiding place, and then Crane chooses to distract Abraham by yelling his name. The sun rises, forcing the Horseman to leave. Crane recalls how Abraham, his former friend, had shaped his destiny by encouraging him to come to the colonies.

The Witnesses descend into the hidden lair, and discovered many stone statues in the pit - people who have tried to retrieve the Sword, but were turned into stone by the Gorgon set to protect it. Abbie discovers that one of them is an M. Dixon, an ancestress. The discovery gives her a sense of impending doom. She and Crane flee, and decide to let the Headless Horseman battle the Gorgon, as the Horseman has no eyes.

Night falls, and Abraham returns to continue his mission. Crane uses the camera on his smartphone to monitor the fight between the Headless Horseman and the Gorgon, while carefully avoiding direct eye contact with the Gorgon. Abbie wondered if Ichabod was "trying to take a selfie with the Gorgon".

While the fight progresses, the Witnesses enter the hidden chamber, which contains many swords surrounding a large container of liquid. Crane warns Abbie of the possibility that seekers may have only one chance to pick out the correct sword, before he leaves to continue monitoring the battle.

Abraham wins the battle by beheading the Gorgon. his head then became visible to Crane, and the two men can finally speak to one another. The two former friends engage in a duel, while Abbie chooses a sword. All the swords on display, including the one Abbie picked, turn into snakes. When the men enter the chamber, she tells them that there is no sword. Abraham puts a gun at Ichabod's chest, declaring that his choice of identity is as the Horseman of Death. In response to a shofar blowing, Abraham leaves the chamber to join his master, Moloch.

Crane and Abbie discover that the container of liquid contains oil, not water. A single torch lowered into it causes the flame to be extinguished. But when both Witnesses put in their torches together, Methuselah's Sword is revealed.

Cast[]

Trivia[]

Title[]

In Japan, this episode is known as The Invincible Sword (無敵の剣 Muteki no Ken).
- Both the Japanese and the US title refer to the Sword of Methuselah although the US title moreover refers to great achievements shown in the episode. One of which is that the Witnesses were able to unravel and obtain one of the most sought-after weapons in history.